Portland, Oregon's Agalloch have been churning out their brand of American black metal since 1995 and have returned with their latest album. Along with being mostly black metal they have folk metal, progressive metal, and drone metal influences. In this album they are able to shift from one style to the next seamlessly to create a compelling metal experience. The album starts off with a melancholy instrumental titled "They Escaped The Weight of Darkness", a cello plays while you hear a brook bubbling and birds chirping, when that interlude is over it bulldozes right into "Into The Painted Grey".
Blast beats and churning guitar start a song that shows off the band's penchant for dynamic arrangements, it soars and impresses for nearly 12 1/2 minutes. As with most black metal bands they have a certain theatrical flair ala Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir, without all the makeup and posturing of course. The vocal stylings of vocalist John Haughm kind of reminds me of Dani Filth but it wouldn't be fair to hem his vocal style to just that one niche. He does a wretching high pitched scream, whispering, and clean vocals. Another thing you will notice with this album it's not slickly or overly produced as evidenced by the sound of the drums, it's very clean. A lot of metal bands with money to throw around in the studio use after effects and pro tools to tweak and hone the drums, especially when blast beats or double bass are involved. This album is lacking such effects and it works to the overall benefit of the listening experience. A static and sterile over-production would ruin the atmosphere of this album. You get the sense that you're listening to a live recording and it oozes character and soul. The songs on this album are long, aside from the opening interlude which is only 3:41, they clock in anywhere from almost 10 minutes to over 17 1/2 minutes in length, and a majority of the tracks segue into each other, giving an orchestral and coherent feel. The mentioned 17 minute track "Black Lake Nidstang" is the highlight of the album for me, starting off droning and easing into booming drums like the prelude to a war march while acoustic guitars slowly strum over it, then it moves into progressive metal territory that reminds of listening to the band Isis. It goes on and on into strange and wonderful styles and territories. The album is constantly shifting and changing and never stagnates. I can't presume to know if someone who likes metal will like this album, that being said I think it's accessible enough that a fan of heavy music will enjoy it. If you're idea of "heavy" is more the Killswitch Engage or All That Remains territory you might not be able to swallow this album whole. That being said this is one of the most engaging metal releases I've heard in a while, that's why I'm giving it a 4 out of 5.
Agalloch - "Into The Painted Grey"
I should start this off with a disclaimer, this is a film score, this is NOT a new Daft Punk album. People looking forward to this as an excuse to hear new music from the French house duo for the first time in over five years will be woefully disappointed. That being said, they are known for creating memorable house music, and Disney is known for creating sweeping memorable film scores. As film music goes, I think if enough people see the movie the song aptly titled "Overture" will be recognized on the level of the scores of recent big budget blockbusters, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Star Wars films. The previously mentioned "Overture" makes several appearances throughout the soundtrack in different versions. As songs go they are mostly short, only a few of the 22 tracks clock in at over 3 minutes. Even the big seller of the soundtrack "Derezzed" comes in at a disappointingly short 1:44. Although the electronic aspects of the score are few the meat of the album is the sweeping music of an 85 string orchestra, bringing to mind Hans Zimmer, and other famous film composers. I am trying to be objective in looking at this as comparing this to other film scores and judging the music on its own merits, and failing miserably. If I hadn't been warned before listening to it that it was a film score, I would have given this a bad review or not even bothered to review it at all. All that side listening to the songs you get the sense of the scenes the music sets up even if you haven't seen the movie. It's sweeping,big, brooding, and dark. Here is hoping that the work the duo has put into this score gets them back in the studio to put out the genius and fun dance music they have made since the mid '90's. I give this album a score of 3 out of 5. - Keith
Daft Punk - "Derezzed"
Hello everyone welcome to my very first posting! This is a music blog to do music reviews on here. When I actually do reviews they will be on a 1 to 5 scale, in 1/2 increments. 5 being the best, but can get a 3.5 for instance, meaning good but not great, and 1 of course being terrible. I won't start this off with a review but with a best of list, which I will also do from time to time. I enjoy music probably more than any other form of entertainment. I don't watch movies over and over again, don't re-read very many books, I'm not one for watching TV on DVD, but albums I will do repeated listens if it's something I'm a fan of. I will also welcome comments. So with this you can post 1 album you thought was the best of the year if it didn't make it on the list. For right now I will not monitor or censor comments but if they become abusive I will review them before posting them. That's only for abuse or trolling, not for anything that may dispute with my taste in music or whatever I decide to talk about on here. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, on with the list.
1. *Album of the Year*: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West, make no mistake is an unrepentant douche, a narcissist of the highest order, which would be impossible to bear if he weren't also one of the best musical talents of the last decade. As many accolades we are prepared to heap upon him and his body of work, he has already beaten us to the punch, going as far to name one of his own albums the best album of that year. There is also the hilarious and somewhat infamous story told by comedian Aziz Ansari about going to West's house only to walk in on him (head bobbing and hand waving) listening to his own album 808's and Heartbreak, defending the act by saying "These beats are dope". This album, arguably the best he's done in his stellar career is a culmination of all the styles he's done on his past albums. Going from the soul rich sampling of The College Dropout to the synth-laden and auto-tuned 808's. In interviews following bouts of outlandish and reprehensible behavior where he begs forgiveness and shows regret, he comes off as brash and unapologetic on Fantasy. Despite the over the top bravado, the huge sound of this album and it's ambition, there are some aspects that make him come across as relatable. Few would say that West is the best rapper alive though he makes his case for that distinction from the very first verse on the song "Dark Fantasy" he says, "I used to fantasize about this back in Chicago/ Mercy mercy me that Murcielago/ That was me the first year that I blow/ How do you say broke in Spanish? Me no habla." This preceded of course by a poem that sounds like it came from a demon-possessed nanny and a church choir ("Can we get much higher?") on the very same song. The album comes off as a production with a huge guest list, everyone from Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan, Kid Cudi, Rick Ross, and even Elton John. It's a stage show between your ears, with costume changes and each act better than the one before. The little eyebrow raising moments are numerous especially in his choices of samples. Going from sampling Aphex Twin on the song "Blame Game", which also features John Legend and a surreal and hilarious sketch at the end by Chris Rock, to sampling Bon Iver's "Woods" from their "Blood Bank Ep". Which seems to take that song, hold it's hand and run it to hell and back. The song "Gorgeous" features Kid Cudi singing the chorus and probably the best rap West has ever written. He takes a stab at his detractors in spades and you wonder if he's serious or in his own way being self-deprecating. Of course the moment you begin to take him seriously you cease to enjoy the personality he's become, and his music is an extension of that. Nicki Minaj steals the song "Monster" and he doesn't seem to mind sharing the spotlight with her and Jay-Z.
The song "Runaway" closes with surreal orchestration and a distorted voice that sounds like a dying cyborg humming his own funeral dirge. Every superhero needs his theme music or so he says on "POWER" and while he may not be the most super of men, his ego, talent, and ambition is unmatched.
Kanye performing "Runaway" with Pusha T on SNL
2. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
In his sixth album Sufjan Stevens moves away from any conceptual underpinnings and signature folksy sound. The title and cover is a reference to artist and schizophrenic Royal Robertson. And while the cover translates as some sort of psychotic avatar, it's a fitting description of the music behind the image. The music Stevens creates is filled with electronics, synths, bass, booming drums, mixed with flutes, choir arrangements, and of course his signature voice, sort of. He's made mention that he' sick of his own voice, and has done well to distort it, mix it, and hide it behind the big orchestrated sounds of this album. It opens with a somber tone of remembrance on the song "Futile Devices"; "It's been a long long time since I've memorized your face" and after a confession of longing and childlike vulnerability, he gives up and reveals that words are the futile devices. The album shows his journey and struggles with his mortality, his faith, his love, his upbringing, his behavioral shortcomings, and his very hold on sanity itself. There is a journey here from his homage to the leaving of a relationship (or is it his life?) on "I Walked" to his self-relation to a raging volcano in the song "Vesuvius". The booming, beautiful, and grandiose sadness of the title track has him confessing "I've lost the will to fight/ I was not made for life". The closing track, the 25 minute five part opus "Impossible Soul" runs the gamut of musical excess. 10 minutes in and on the 3rd part he breaks out the auto-tune, goes into a revival style shout out, a cheer section back and forth on part 4, and closes with longing and regret, "Boy, we made such a mess together." Sufjan has made a mess we'd all be happy to step in.
Sufjan Stevens - "I Walked"
3. The Black Keys - Brothers
The Black Keys, comprised of musicians Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney are a bare-bones outfit that have been making their muddy version of blues rock for the last decade. On their sixth album, the follow-up to their collaboration with Danger Mouse on their last album Attack and Release the band return with a sonic and fuzzy return to form. From the very first song "Everlasting Light" it is obvious from the very first words sang on the album that Auerbach has incorporated falsetto into his signature howling, and it works beautifully. He also uses it on their cover of Jerry Butler's "Never Gonna Give You Up", it's wonderful to hear over top of a smartly done rendition. It's a wonderful and soulful album going from highs and lows, but seeing as how it's essentially a blues record, they're all lows, just some with deeper valleys than others. The song "Next Girl" is a classic take on wayward women, it's clever chorus "Oh my next girl/ will be much better than my ex-girl/ I made mistakes back then/ I'll never do it again" will be hard to get out of your head. On the song "Unknown Brother" there's vulnerability about him as he sings about a brother who left this world before he had the chance to know him, living on in pictures and memories. And judging by the length of this album, 15 songs and almost an hour long they seem to be unbottling and assures us they still have good music ahead of them.
The Black Keys - "Next Girl"
4. *Best New Artist* Surfer Blood - Astrocoast
Surfer Blood, essentially a surf rock outfit from Florida have made an impressive debut LP full of catchy riffs and songs that are fun to sing along to. It's one of those soundtrack for the summer albums, covering the topics that accompany the joys and angst of adolescence, love, drugs, loneliness, the future, religion, and even masturbation. Thankfully it does this without making it come off as some pop culture guilty pleasure. It's an album that elicits the vibes and feelings of the Beach Boys' masterpiece Pet Sounds and I feel completely comfortable in making that comparison. The first single "Swim" is a tidal wave of a single, wrought with reverb and overpowering in it's guitar and sound. They even take us on a long drive to Syracuse in the song "Twin Peaks", talking about David Lynch and wrenching out lyrics about sexual frustration. The opener of the album is gorgeous and it's melodies come off as a dream we wouldn't want to wake up from, "Forget the second coming/ I need you in the here and now/ Instead of dreamin' up a way to spread your name across the world somehow". This is a classic indie album that triumphs in everything it sets out to do.
Surfer Blood - "Swim"
5. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
The Deftones are no stranger to the music world but they have had a strange and sometimes tragic journey in making their place in it. The first full length album recorded without original bassist Chi Cheng due to a horrible car accident, and subsequently having to shelve the last album they were recording with him tentatively titled Eros, the Deftones have grown before our very eyes. In order to deliver such a powerful and heavy album they had to purge themselves of the inner tension, the drama, the tragedy. This album will floor anyone who's previous notion of Deftones has been the albums they've made of late. From their first emergence on the music scene of the somewhat immature and visceral "punk metal" sound that was on their first two releases, this album takes those and melds it with the huge departure they took with 2000's White Pony. They take all the good and the bad and apply it to this album with the maturity and headstrong dedication that comes with being serious and seasoned musicians. From the opening trudging riff of "Diamond Eyes" to the lofty tinkling of "Beauty School" this album is filling and soars with its breadth and scale. No Deftones album would be complete without the heavy moments and it has a share of those too, most notably with the song "Rocket Skates" with Chino's signature scream, a gutteral high pitched din that sounds like a cat has been lodged in his throat in the height of its death throes. Also notably heavy is the song "CMND/CTRL" and incorporates a soaring and sometimes whispery chorus. This album is a reignition not only for the band for the genre, for the music world in general. If they continue to be this focused and continue to put the effort into future releases as they have this one, the sacrifices and heartbreaks will all be well worth it.
Deftones - "Diamond Eyes"
...and all the rest:
6: Parkway Drive - Deep Blue
A chugging juggernaut of a metal album from Australia's own. It hits you over the head like a club wielded by a giant.
Parkway Drive - "Sleepwalker"
7. Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
The highly anticipated follow-up album from the prodigy of Kanye West, who has the distinction of being the only person more destructive than Mr. West himself.
Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West - "Erase Me"
8. Chromeo - Business Casual
The best Jewish/Arab musical collaboration ever? You be the judge, classic chart pop and electrofunk with a showstopping middle section with the songs "Night By Night", "Don't Turn The Lights On" and "You Make It Rough".
Chromeo - "Night By Night'
9. Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP
It probably seems self-serving to put Sufjan Stevens on the list twice, but it deserves to be here. This EP, which is LP length (8 songs, 60 minutes long) was released six weeks before The Age of Adz. This is the Sufjan we're more used to, banjos, complicated orchestral arrangements, and acoustic melodies.
Sufjan Stevens - "All Delighted People"
10. The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea
Anthemic heavy house music with trance influences. Ethereal and fun to listen to this is the best electronic album of the year.
The Glitch Mob - "Animus Vox"
That's it, the 10 best albums (in my opinion) of 2010. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Stay tuned for reviews in the future. Don't forget to comment with your own picks for the best of the year. - Keith
Portland, Oregon's Agalloch have been churning out their brand of American black metal since 1995 and have returned with their latest album. Along with being mostly black metal they have folk metal, progressive metal, and drone metal influences. In this album they are able to shift from one style to the next seamlessly to create a compelling metal experience. The album starts off with a melancholy instrumental titled "They Escaped The Weight of Darkness", a cello plays while you hear a brook bubbling and birds chirping, when that interlude is over it bulldozes right into "Into The Painted Grey". Blast beats and churning guitar start a song that shows off the band's penchant for dynamic arrangements, it soars and impresses for nearly 12 1/2 minutes. As with most black metal bands they have a certain theatrical flair ala Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir, without all the makeup and posturing of course. The vocal stylings of vocalist John Haughm kind of reminds me of Dani Filth but it wouldn't be fair to hem his vocal style to just that one niche. He does a wretching high pitched scream, whispering, and clean vocals. Another thing you will notice with this album it's not slickly or overly produced as evidenced by the sound of the drums, it's very clean. A lot of metal bands with money to throw around in the studio use after effects and pro tools to tweak and hone the drums, especially when blast beats or double bass are involved. This album is lacking such effects and it works to the overall benefit of the listening experience. A static and sterile over-production would ruin the atmosphere of this album. You get the sense that you're listening to a live recording and it oozes character and soul. The songs on this album are long, aside from the opening interlude which is only 3:41, they clock in anywhere from almost 10 minutes to over 17 1/2 minutes in length, and a majority of the tracks segue into each other, giving an orchestral and coherent feel. The mentioned 17 minute track "Black Lake Nidstang" is the highlight of the album for me, starting off droning and easing into booming drums like the prelude to a war march while acoustic guitars slowly strum over it, then it moves into progressive metal territory that reminds of listening to the band Isis. It goes on and on into strange and wonderful styles and territories. The album is constantly shifting and changing and never stagnates. I can't presume to know if someone who likes metal will like this album, that being said I think it's accessible enough that a fan of heavy music will enjoy it. If you're idea of "heavy" is more the Killswitch Engage or All That Remains territory you might not be able to swallow this album whole. That being said this is one of the most engaging metal releases I've heard in a while, that's why I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. 
